New Delhi : Home Minister Rajnath Singh said here on Monday the Centre has asked for a fresh report from the Jammu and Kashmir government as its clarification on the release of separatist leader Masrat Alam was unsatisfactory.
“Many leaders have expressed concern over the release of Alam. As soon as we got information in the matter, we asked for a report from the Jammu and Kashmir home department,” said Rajnath Singh in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
He also said that the central government was not satisfied with the report and has sought further clarifications on this.
“As far as public safety and national security is concerned, our government will not compromise at all. Will not allow anyone to play with the safety and security of the nation.”
The minister’s statement came as members from both houses of parliament expressed concern over Alam’s release.
Alam, arrested during the 2010 unrest in Kashmir Valley for allegedly inciting youth to pelt stones at security and police forces, was released by the newly-installed PDP-BJP coalition government on Saturday.
In the Rajya Sabha, as opposition members accused the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) of having a “hidden agenda” in Jammu and Kashmir, the home minister said: “We have no hidden agenda. Our agenda is in the open.”
While giving clarifications on his statement, the home minister agreed that there were ideological differences between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“Despite ideological differences, this government was formed in Jammu and Kashmir, because the mandate was fractured. If not us, you could have formed the government… The garden that you destroyed, we are trying to make it bloom again,” the home minister said, targeting the Congress.
The home minister said he was speaking on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“I am happy the whole house is concerned. If I can understand their feeling, the whole house agrees Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India, and will always be…,” he said.
“…I want to assure the house, and I am speaking on behalf of the prime minister, we will not allow anyone to disintegrate the nation, howsoever big the power may be,” he added.
Rajnath Singh also said that Modi has so far not had any talks with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on any topic of significance.
“The prime minister has not had any talks with Mufti sahab on major issues. He met the PM but it was just a courtesy call,” he said.
The home minister informed the house that the Jammu and Kashmir government has said that Masrat Alam had 27 criminal cases against him since 1995.
“They have informed that the high court has granted him bail in all 27 cases as he could be detained for only two years on the same grounds,” Rajnath Singh said.
The home minister, however, said that the central government was not satisfied with this report. “We have further sought clarifications on this.”